Additional facts

The Problem

The current requirements for construction projects in Guadalajara are long, complicated, and involve a lot of paperwork. The complexity and lack of transparency allows for corruption and favoritism to influence decisions, leading to disorganized and haphazard growth in the city.

The Innovation

The city will tackle corruption by building an online platform for construction project permits that publicly maps business names, plans, licenses, and payments. Along with increasing transparency and speeding processing times, the platform will serve as a backup mechanism to audit and guarantee the implementation of the city development and growth vision according to current metropolitan plans. The platform will be open to the public, allowing them to weigh in on development plans and land-use decisions.

The Impact

By increasing transparency, Guadalajara aims to tackle corruption and favoritism in an actionable and measurable way. At the same time, the city wants to allow for more organized construction growth. The new online platform will promote a more open and streamlined licensing process, leading to better resource allocation and a more orderly city, attractive to investors and more sustainable and equitable for its citizens. The city has recently passed a critical reform to enable online licensing, clearing the way for the launch of its pilot website by September 2017.

Words from Guadalajara

“This platform will help identify and substantiate actions to respond to the real needs of the city by applying quality standards, better practices, and law enforcement in urban development.”

Additional facts

Approximately 3.5 billion people live in urban areas, but only 37 percent of the areas under development have urban plans